Co-Planning: More About Co-Planning

Co-planning in the co-teaching context is built on several principles, including:

Building relationships between mentor teacher and candidate,

Increasing transparency for the candidate in processes related to planning, teaching, and decision-making,

and keeping the focus on student learning.

This shift depends on the positive attitudes of both co-teachers. Successful co-teaching pairs have mutual respect for one another. They understand that they share responsibility for planning, teaching, and overall student learning.

This paradigm shift is grounded in an apprenticeship model whereby
candidates are novices being immersed in professional learning
with a more knowledgeable mentor teacher.

In the beginning of the classroom placement, the mentor has more planning and instructional responsibility. As the co-teaching partnership progresses, the level of instructional responsibility for the candidate increases. This progression will be slightly different for every mentor/candidate pair.

By the end of the candidate’s program, it is expected that the majority of the planning and instructional responsibilities should be handled by the candidate. However, both co-teachers remain active participants in planning and teaching throughout the program.